London open: Weak start for blue chips
4th Dec 2009 08:45
Footsie has fallen back in early dealings after a dip in the US last night while the bank bonus row has spread to Lloyds. Shares in Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland are both under pressure. A report in the Times this morning suggested 200 Lloyds executives will get a bonus of 80% of their salary f
Read moreLondon pre-open: Early fall expected
4th Dec 2009 07:37
Footsie is expected to slip back in early dealings after a fall in the US last night and aas traders mull statements from the housebuilding sector. Housebuilder Bellway predicts sales volumes for the first six months to 31 January 2010 will be 10% better than the same time last year, with an operat
Read moreBellway forecasts 10% hike in half-year sales
4th Dec 2009 07:07
Housebuilder Bellway predicts sales volumes for the first six months to 31 January 2010 will be 10% better than the same time last year, with an operating margin steady at 6% to 7%. Reservations taken between 1 August and 30 November averaged 91 a week, up 51% on a year ago, while cancellation rate
Read moreFriday preview: Bellway, Berkeley Group, US jobless
3rd Dec 2009 16:28
Friday sees attention switch to Britain's slowly recovering housebuilding sector. Housebuilder Bellway Is expected to announce that housing sales in the first quarter of the company's financial year have been flat, but that it has enjoyed a firming of prices, particularly in the south of England.
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Pub and house stocks in demand
27th Nov 2009 13:17
Pub groups and housebuilders are among the risers in the FTSE 250. Punch Taverns leads the risers, while fellow tenanted pub group Enterprise Inns is also posting gains. Enterprise was one of the fallers yesterday after O' Neills owner Mitchell and Butlers said it made a good start to its new fina
Read moreFTSE 250 movers: Bellway and Barratt build gains
16th Nov 2009 12:12
Shares in housebuilders Bellway and Barratt climb after peer Persimmon said it has started to buy sizeable parcels of land again as sales have recovered to the point where it is fully sold this year, while orders for 2010 are up 50%. Persimmon itself fails to make it into the top 10 though. Among
Read moreLondon open: Retailers brighten the mood
4th Nov 2009 08:51
Good news from two major retailers has boosted sentiment with a late rally on Wall Street also helping the mood. High street giant Marks & Spencer produced interim results right at the top of expectations, with underlying profits rising slightly as food sales improved for a fourth quarter in a row
Read moreLondon close: Retailers weigh on Footsie
13th Oct 2009 16:46
A poor performance from US shares dragged Footsie into the red and the leading index finished the day with substantial losses. Retailers were out of sorts despite some moderately optimistic news from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) concerning retail sales. The BRC said annual retail sales growt
Read moreLondon afternoon: Retailers sag after sales data
13th Oct 2009 14:26
Leading shares remain mixed, with the Footsie easing back into the red over the lunchtime session. Retailers are out of sorts despite some moderately optimistic news from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) concerning retail sales. The BRC said annual retail sales growth in September accelerated to
Read moreBroker tips: Whitbread, Bellway, Connaught
13th Oct 2009 13:13
Interim results from Whitbread have generally been well received by the market with the improving trend at the company's Premier Inn hotel business being the most positive aspect. Jonathan Jackson, head of Equities at Killik, is not inclined to change next year's earnings forecasts after the interi
Read moreBroker snap: Bellway well placed for land grab
13th Oct 2009 12:41
House builder Bellway has made a believer of Panmure Gordon after announcing full year results that were ahead of the broker's expectations. 'With the stock 12% off its September high, we are upgrading our recommendation from Hold to Buy,' the broker said, adding it would probably revise its earnin
Read moreLondon midday: Looking for direction
13th Oct 2009 12:14
The Footsie has crawled into positive territory, helped by miners recovering from their weak opening. Kazakhmys is the pick of the sector after revealing it is in talks with the China Development Bank and JSC Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna regarding a potential corporate loan facility of aroun
Read moreLondon open: Footsie in the red
13th Oct 2009 08:35
Stocks have fallen in early trade, with miners aiding the decline and as investors wait nervously for a flood of results from the US. Miners Randgold, Lonmin, Antofagasta and Rio Tinto are lower on weaker metal prices. But Whitbread was hot property, adding more than 3% after it reported an impro
Read moreLondon pre-open: Footsie to drop slightly
13th Oct 2009 07:36
London's top stocks are expected to open slightly lower after finishing at their best levels in over a year Monday. Traders see Footsie drop around 10 points. Whitbread reported a 10.4% drop in first half pre-tax profits but said it is now seeing an improving trend at its budget hotel chain Premier
Read moreBellway 'well positioned'
13th Oct 2009 07:04
Housebuilder Bellway slumped to a full-year loss after one-off items, but it's maintained the final dividend and is keen to start buying up land, especially in the South East of England. A profit before tax of £34.8m last year turned into a loss of £36.6m in the year ended 31 July 2009. Turnover pl
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